Books surround us, inspire us, and managing our library account is a formidable task. So, here's the ever-growing list of our favorite books for tykes, to help us keep track and to share with you too!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Because Kids Are Smart!

Finally! I found a smart, fun book about the human body for the kiddos! A couple weeks ago, Erik started asking me about his bones, and we went on to talk about blood, muscles, etc., and I wanted to get some books about bones, the circulatory system, the brain; basically how the body works. There are a lot of these books out there for kids, and a lot of them are very very simplistic and don't give much information. I wanted a fun book with good illustrations, good information, and the real names of bones.

After reviewing many books, Becky Baines' The Bones You Own from National Geographic Kids, fit the bill perfectly. Tibia, humerus, stapes, illium, ribs, femur, vertebrae... you name it, it's there, and the book has the kids feel their bones, gives fun facts and info (like the fact that babies have 300 bones, but adults have 206), and the photos and illustrations are wonderful. This book even shows the inside of a bone, comparing spongy bone, compact bone and marrow (the "gushy, jelly-like part...") — "Eeeew!!" said the kids — they loved it! And, at the end of the book, there's a two-page spread of questions in "thought bubbles" that you can Zigzag through to explore more thoughts about bones, like: "Why do you have to wear a cast on a broken bone?" and "What would you look like without any bones?"

I've already put her other anatomy book Your Skin Holds You In on hold at the library, along with several other books in this ZigZag series (there's one about the solar system and another about animal communication). Hooray for smart books for smart kids!!